Sugababes Covers
Indie bands covering Top 40 hits get all the love (because who doesn’t love the ironic cover?), but things can work just as well the other way around. Case in point: Sultry female three-piece Sugababes, one of the UK’s most popular acts, have recently covered UK “it”-bands Arctic Monkeys and Hard-Fi (though “it”-band is a pretty huge understatement in the case of the former, considering the absolute frenzy of hype surrounding Arctic Monkeys) for the admirable purpose of providing stimulating b-side fodder for their fans. Their cover of the Arctic’s “I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor” appears as the b-side to their “Red Dress” single and has received praise from all across the blogosphere, and many have gone as far as to say it actually eclipses the original (including Pitchfork). With their cover, Sugababes, “transform what was sloppy post-punk into music for tube tops”, polishing the rough guitars to a glossy finish and tidying up the instrumentation, all the while keeping the manic pace of the original (Pitchfork).
Sugababes have since set their sights on another group of UK dance-punk rockers, Hard-Fi, and just released their cover of the group’s “Living For The Weekend”. Though not quite as perfect as their Arctics cover, Sugababes deliver a serviceable rendition of the Hard-Fi original, but my lack of enthusiasm could merely be do to the fact that Hard-Fi’s music doesn’t really excite me in the first place. Setting my disposition aside, download the tracks below and decide for yourself.
MP3s:
“I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor” - Sugababes
“Living For The Weekend” - Sugababes